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UNIVERSITÀ DI PISA

The University of Pisa is a public institution with articulated and connected missions to fulfil societal needs: Education, Research and Technology transfer.

The Department of Veterinary Sciences (DVS) is one of the 20 departments at the University of Pisa. Multidisciplinary, the work includes research as well as the training of veterinarians, animal trainers, and other professional figures involved in the field of animal production. Among the research fields, those most linked to the project are the following: the Rural Development and Agricultural Economics group and the Veterinary Physiology and Ethology group.

The wide and complementary experience of the Deparment of Veterinary Science unfolds in different areas:

The first area focuses on the impact of institutional mechanisms for transition processes and the dynamics of interaction between actors and the government in testing new models of policies, as well as the communication in development processes associated with the promotion of nature based solutions. These processes will be implemented in Lucca city in order to define the first Hum-an city and the first Hum-an city policy. The second key aspect is knowledge on animal behaviours and their interactions with humans, also developed from a scientific point of view, as well as in interaction with diverse public and private stakeholders. Human-Animal interactions and how to translate them into positive effects while avoiding any possible negative effects is pivotal in WP3. In this area, the DVS trains students both in veterinary medicine and the training and education of pets that will be actively involved in the promotion of innovative activities and job opportunities along the project according with the first Hum-an city. The third area focuses on urban planning activities and buildings related to hum-an interaction. From this point of view, inside the DVS, as well as in the associated Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering, specific competencies and knowledge related to urban planning (food planning and public spaces) are also involved in the project in order to design innovative solutions able to facilitate the hum-an interaction in diverse public-private contexts. The research is mainly based on qualitative methods: using texts and images drawn from interviews as sources, focus groups and methods of ‘participant observation’, as well as case studies as a tool of ‘grounded theory’, a theory that is developed in a systematic way through empirical observation.

UNIPI will co-coordinate WP3, Hum-animal city in Lucca, with the Municipality of Lucca and Lucca Crea and will take part in all the other WPs.